"Nurses are so Mean"
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I wish I had a dollar for every post I've read claiming that "nurses are so mean," "nurses are nasty to each other," "nurses eat their young" or "my preceptor is picking on me for no good reason." ... Read More

May 11, '10

There are people in the world who disagree with me. I could even go so far as to say that there are "bad people" in the world. But to suggest that the behaviours of such people constitute an excuse for me to lie cheat steal and backbite colleagues is utter and complete hogwash. If there are Nurses who justify such reptilian conduct by saying "I'm a jerk because the corporation is mean," then I would rather die in a Wal-Mart parking lot than have them within 100-miles of my bedside.

With all due respect, Ma'am, the economy and the corporations etc are doing us a favor. They are helping us identify who has integrity and who does not.

This is a nice idea in theory, but I don't really see the economy and corporations sorting out the bad apples, so to speak. I see heightened, cut throat competition to get jobs (especially among new grads), people staying in the workforce longer (including a fair number of people who SHOULD have retired or moved into different positions long ago - I kid you not that I've seen nurses who can barely walk or provide patient care due to back or knee issues), and more and more stress amongst nurses because more work is being given to less people (due to hiring freezes).

The invisible hand is not magically sorting out those lacking in integrity; just as it is not magically fixing our current economic problems.

This is a nice idea in theory, but I don't really see the economy and corporations sorting out the bad apples, so to speak. I see heightened, cut throat competition to get jobs (especially among new grads), people staying in the workforce longer (including a fair number of people who SHOULD have retired or moved into different positions long ago - I kid you not that I've seen nurses who can barely walk or provide patient care due to back or knee issues), and more and more stress amongst nurses because more work is being given to less people (due to hiring freezes).

The invisible hand is not magically sorting out those lacking in integrity; just as it is not magically fixing our current economic problems.

I have to agree with you there. In meetings and emails to workers, admin. is always woot wooting about how the new economy "means new challenges" and "only the strongest, most dedicated workers have a place with us during these hard times". They work very hard at selling their war cry of "We will do whatever is necessary to survive these troubling times".

"Surviving these troubling times" has turned into increased workloads on nurses (and every other dept.), less supplies to work with and clown like penny pinching (sending emails complaining of workers who punch in 5 min. before their scheduled time.........just days after sending an email complaining about workers not showing up ready to work). It has not turned into cutting admin. jobs or salaries though, ironically. Guess even "Whatever is necessary to survive these troubling times" has its limits.

May 11, '10

i agree, erik. and i'm about as far away from michael moore in my opinions about capitalism as you can get. this wheat-chaff pain is a good thing argument is the true reptile. and those reptiles have the deep pockets for feel-good warm and fuzzy branding efforts. obviously it's not a good thing to gossip and/or backbite, but the corporations are "doing us a favor"? i guess the rats who spread the plague were doing us a favor, too. the lower population plus the fire made london a much cleaner city. cold

May 11, '10

How do any of these facts have to do with "mean nurses?"

May 11, '10

I, too, believe in capitalism and think M. Moore is a joke...........this country was built on free speech and capitalism....but the hospital owners are taking advantage of these hard times and causing the nursing industry to change...it is a very sad situation..........

May 11, '10

How do any of these facts have to do with "mean nurses?"

"Mean Nurses" say it's never their fault.

May 11, '10

So - what is the solution? Should more nurses be in Administrative positions? Executive and CFO positions? Should more nurses be politically active, and lobbying in Washington to make ourselves heard?

Has anyone written any articles about any of these thoughts and issues?

Just some ideas stewing around. . .

am

May 12, '10

yes everyone has bad days i agree, but i thought part of the nursing profession was to help people. not just patients but coworkers. part of the definition of nursing is teaching. if a nurse gets tired of answering the same question for the 100th time maybe they should rethink their position. part of nursing i believe is not to bring your bad mood to work with you, or if you do because i know thats an impossible task, try to mask it the best you can. no one deserves to be spoken down to, new or not. patient, clinical student, or seasoned RN..

yes everyone has bad days i agree, but i thought part of the nursing profession was to help people. not just patients but coworkers. part of the definition of nursing is teaching. if a nurse gets tired of answering the same question for the 100th time maybe they should rethink their position. part of nursing i believe is not to bring your bad mood to work with you, or if you do because i know thats an impossible task, try to mask it the best you can. no one deserves to be spoken down to, new or not. patient, clinical student, or seasoned RN..

I don't think that anyone has an issue with answering questions, the issue is the same person asking the same question, and not retaining the knowledge they should be learning with an answer to the question. Maybe it's something complicated they don't get with the first time, but when it's the 8th, 25th, or 99th time someone has answered the same question for that question, red flags should start to appear.

I currently work with a nurse who truly scares me. Fresh out of nursing school, and some of the things she's asked me how to do (multiple multiple times) are things that are nursing 101. Honestly, I don't understand how she graduated nursing school without knowing (and this is just one example) how to spike and prime an IV bag. Our pumps are also heavily covered in hospital orientation (2 weeks) and in unit orientation (minimum of another 6 weeks). So she's now been on our unit for 6 months, and still doesn't know this? Red flags are flying.

May 13, '10

hi there,

it seems there are two different issues being discussed - one is bringing a bad attitude to work (and I agree with normajean, as nurses and professionals, we need to set the tone and the example of being positive, and continue to be the best we can be, even on bad days - because as the saying goes, it all trickles down, especially if you are teaching or being an example for new nurses!)
The second issue being discussed is a nurse who is not 'getting it' - or perhaps being enabled in some way to be helpless. A nurse educator colleague of mine discussed this issue in class, of a new nurse who consistantly did not learn how to do IV insertions, and was having the other nurses do it for her ( for a whole year!!) Half of the problem was that the other nurses were enabling her, and the other half is that the new nurse was not taking ownership of learning how to do it for herself. A situation like that needs to be addressed and rectified - quickly. If the nurse is truly incompetent - she may need to look for another line of work. If the issue is lack of confidence or high anxiety levels - that can be addressed by a positive mentoring partner for a period of time to help this nurse gain the skills she lacks. But it needs to have a set time, and a goal, it can't drag on for months and months.
I see this as a different issue than new nurses who may be asking a question several times because they are newbies, and overwhelmed with an avalanche of new information. Let's face, we have all been there and done that. We should be kind to those who follow in our footsteps!

We have all been the 'novice to expert' many times over in our careers, and if we keep learning and growing, it continues to be a revolving door, and that feeling of being a novice should keep us just a little humble!
JMHO
Annmarie

May 13, '10

back to the original post........there are no "mean nurses"...
just nurses that have seen a lot, been through a lot, and maybe have toughened up some...and yes, some of us have little patience for a new grad that cannot seem to grasp basic skills.......we do try to help, but enough is enough....
On the whole, most new grads I have worked with have done well.......